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Licenses & Inspections leaders describe reorganization, enforcement initiatives and staffing plans
Summary
L&Is restructured construction oversight (Inspection, Safety & Compliance) and Quality of Life divisions reported a productive first year, new inspector classes, enforcement programs and plans to study proactive rental inspection capacity tied to the mayors housing initiative.
Basil Miranda, commissioner of Inspection, Safety and Compliance (ISC), and Bridget Collins Greenwall, commissioner of Quality of Life (QOL) at the Department of Licenses & Inspections, told City Council the split reorganization that took effect March 5, 2024, has enabled focused construction oversight and a separate unit for neighborhood-level code enforcement.
"The ISC's first year of operation has been very productive and transformative," Miranda said, describing recruitment and enforcement milestones. Miranda reported a recent inspector class of 20 with 16 candidates expected to enter the field this summer and said five investigator positions in an audits and investigations unit were funded and filled in last years budget. He described efforts to reinstate an experienced inspector under a city-service rule allowing return within five years.
Greenwall described QOLs collaborative enforcement programs and said the department has emphasized education followed by targeted enforcement. "QOL has taken on a proactive and collaborative approach to education and enforcement," she said, and outlined neighborhood corridor work, an anti-illegal-auto-repair program coordinated with the police and parking authority, a Business Education & Enforcement (B) program that pairs outreach with follow-up inspections, and Clean & Green partnerships.
Council members pressed the department on capacity to support the administrations HOME initiative, a plan the mayor described to build or preserve 30,000 housing units by 2027. Several members asked whether L&I has the inspector capacity or budget requests ready to oversee a large building push. Miranda said the department would first fill existing vacancies (he estimated roughly 20 vacancies) and run successive recruitment classes; he also described outreach to trade unions, contractor associations and vocational programs to attract candidates. Miranda said the department may need to return to council for additional inspectors if the program ramps up.
On dilapidated property removals, Miranda described the challenge posed by due process and court timelines and said the average time to demolish an eminently dangerous property is about 123 days. He told council he hopes to assign two inspectors to straightforward demolition projects to accelerate the pipeline and free other staff for reinspections and court preparation. Greenwall and Miranda said they are forming a court-district unit to reduce case backlog by preparing cases for hearings.
The department acknowledged past controller findings about unrecovered demolition costs and said collections rely on liens and third-party collection work; L&I said it continues to pursue liens and other remedies.
Greenwall said the department is analyzing proactive rental inspection models (work with Pew was cited) and plans a virtual-inspection pilot in June. She said she expects research and stakeholder work to conclude in coming months before returning to council with a detailed plan and any specific inspector-number requests.
On technology, L&I plans outreach and user training ahead of a WebUI rollout planned for the fall; the department said it will schedule webinars and stakeholder sessions to solicit user feedback before finalizing the interface.
Ending
Commissioners asked council to keep communications open on problem properties and said they will provide requested data — including demolitions, lien recoveries and rental-license breakdowns — in writing to council offices.
